Two of my colleagues have already provided favourable reviews of this
release, in this projected six-disc survey of the lesser known music of
Sibelius. The final instalment Scaramouche is due out at the end of
October 2015. The complete incidental music for Pelléas et
Mélisande is the only volume I have heard. It was given to me by a
friend, and I was so taken by it that I decided to add my own two-penny
worth.

It dates from 1905, a year after the composer’s move to his country
retreat at Järvenpää, to escape the bustle and pressures of city life, and
was the result of a commission from the Swedish Theatre. Significantly,
Arnold Schoenberg’s realisation of the Maeterlinck play was completed the
year before in February 1903 and was premiered on 25 January 1905 at the
Musikverein in Vienna. Sibelius’ premiere took place two months later on 17
March. Maeterlinck had been undergoing a surge in popularity at the time.
Debussy wrote his eponymous opera in 1898.

Sibelius’ incidental music was an ambitious project, becoming the
highlight of the Helsinki theatre season, and listening to this beguiling
score, suffused with an innate quality of diaphanous warmth, one can
understand why. When he later came to make a concert suite of it, he adapted
the ten-movement score to just nine, omitting track 9, marked [no tempo
marking] (Scene 2). I don’t really know why, as it’s a deliciously
evocative piece, where the solo cello and woodwinds have a raptly prominent
narrative.

Segerstam’s is a spacious account, which allows us to luxuriate in the
rich, lightly-textured tapestry of Sibelius’ orchestration. All the
subtleties and nuances of the composer’s scoring are realized to effect. The
soprano Pia Pajala offers a heartfelt account of ‘The three Blind Sisters’,
Mélisande’s song from Act III, scene 2.

The remaining items, with the exception of Autrefois – Scène
pastorale, op.96b, are waltzes, and all make a pleasing listening
experience. I’ve never heard any of them before, and am more than grateful
to make their acquaintance. The mezzo-soprano Sari Nordqvist joins Pia
Pajala for the Autrefois, and their exquisite voices blend together
admirably.

Dominic Wells has provided some interesting and informative notes, and
Swedish texts and English translations of the two vocal items prove an added
bonus. On the basis of this outstanding release, I’m tempted to explore the
other volumes in the series with enthusiasm.